A satisfying 'normal' day in a Challenger

A long one but just relaying some personal experience to any folks contemplating the purchase of a Challenger. I'm posting here for others to share their general experiences about their cars that are obviously much more extensive than mine.

Yesterday we decided to go to a large Atlanta Farmer's market, a 258 miles round trip from our rather rural mountain home in western NC. We packed two large coolers in the trunk that easily fit. Neither our Mustang or Trans Am could do this. We left on a cold 23 degree morning. The heated steering wheel and heated seats made the ride ultra comfortable.

Cruising the highway in 'normal' D felt uncomfortable to me in the 60 - 70 mph range. I couldn't tell if the tranny was searching for a gear or if it was that 4 cylinder mode. I moved the handle to 'manual' in 8th and the feeling was gone. Much smoother, and when I looked at the gauge it did not show a 4 cylinder mode. Maybe the manual shuts off the cylinder deactivation. I forget what the owner's manual said. Whatever it was, it was much nicer and the exhaust tone better as well. I am sensitive to things like this so others may not even notice it. When I came upon the occasional stop light I just went back to 'auto'. About as easy it it gets.

When we were done loading the car with loads of fresh fish, meats, and all types of items, we were on our way home. Everything fit easily in the trunk even with the two coolers. The back seat was there for our coats and other misc things. Man, the space is unreal in these cars. "Stop and go' Atlanta traffic was no problem at all and we actually had to put on the a/c with the afternoon sun beating in on us. From the cold morning to the warm afternoon, the dual climate control was fantastic. I needed more cool air than my wife as I was baking in the direct sun in the city traffic. Very impressive to us anyway.

With gas prices rising quickly we found a Mobil with 89 octane at $3.04 per gallon. Mid grade is a nice plus since that is all my 5.7 Hemi requires. I had set the trip odometer and mpg rating before we left and I was amazed at the 23.9 mpg we averaged on this mostly highway trip. I imagine it could have even been better if I allowed that 4 cylinder mode. We sure can live with those numbers though. I didn't buy this car for economy sake or gas concerns. That's obvious by the 3 eight cylinder cars we own.

A comfortable enjoyable ride overall and our first full 'general' day in our 2020 R/T. Hope this helps in some fashion for those thinking about this model. Two

 

Thanks for the write-up. It's always nice to hear from folks that are able to get out and enjoy their car.

BTW ... my wife and I enjoy your part of the country. We'll be knocking around Blowing Rock and Maggie Valley in May. And, I'll be back up to run The Tail of the Dragon with the Mopar Meet in the Mountains group in June.

 

^^^ Thanks for the nice comments above.
Wizard of IZ - Maggie Valley is so beautiful! We first tried moving there when we retired to NC in 2002 but the prices then were a little too high for us. We settled in Franklin where we always visited my father in law who had a home here. The drive from FL (Tampa) was a full day at about 600 miles. We visited as often as work allowed.
I need to look up the Mopar Meet you mentioned. I want to go to events and shows with Mopars.
I will be visiting the TOTD in the Challenger too, maybe this summer, to get those wonderful professional photos. I have them for all my other rides over the years, now I need a Challenger one. It's just two hours from us which is nice.

 

You’re absolutely right about the MDS killing drivability in these cars. I NEVER use the ‘Auto’ mode because of it. When it hits 4 cylinder mode the car feels terrible.
Regarding road trips in the Challenger, although it’s by far the best pony car for it, I don’t see me ever doing any with it. Our SUV is simply a much better companion on road trips, and my wife doesn’t like riding in or driving cars these days. Says she doesn’t feel safe in anything other than a tall SUV/CUV. Bottom line, most of my Challenger drives are by myself.

 

^^^ Thanks for the info on the 4 cylinder mode. I guess I'm not alone. I had a feeling that was the problem. I'm very pleased that the manual mode kills it while cruising along.

 

My wife loves to kill some time at one of the gem mines around Franklin so we'll be in your neck of the woods on our way to Blowing Rock.


Speaking of Maggie Valley ... One of my wife's co-workers and her husband are house hunting in Maggie Valley and Waynesville after spending a week in the area last Spring.


The Meet in the Mountains event has been going on for a number of years but this will only be my third trip. It started as a Challengers only event by a group on another Forumz. But years ago it became all inclusive to Mopars. The event is June 11th - 13th this year and the host hotel is moving from Gatlinburg to Pigeon Forge. Here's a link to the Facebook page about the event:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/189499294986429/announcements

 

Since my SRT 392 has the adaptive suspension, its ride quality is better than what we had in my 2011 Challenger R/T. So as long as I keep it in Street mode ... which I'm willing to do for her comfort ... my wife is fine with taking either vehicle.

It kind of depends on the destination and length of trip whether we take my wife's Durango R/T or my Challenger.


Weekends ... we lean toward taking my Challenger

Week-long vacation trips ... we lean toward taking the Durango

Visiting her folks' house in the country ... we take the Durango to keep my car off of the dirt roads

 

So here we are, trying to please our wives again. One of the reasons I bought the Challenger was for road trips with my wife. We only took it for one week long (500 mile one way) trip so far. My wife didn't complain but I could tell the firmer ride was getting to her around 400 miles in. We'll take the Challenger on many of our one day trips around Ohio.
We normally use the SUV for our vacation trips to the Outer Banks or to visit my 2 daughters and 3 grandkids in NC. Seems we always have to take a ton of crap down to them or have to bring a ton of crap back home every time we go. My other 3 kids and 4 grandkids live locally, so there I'm ALWAYS the delivery guy.